South Zone without DCP for 5 months

Among all the five Hyderabad city police zones, south zone (the entire Old City) has always been considered the most sensitive one. This is getting further evidenced if one goes by the innumerable communal clashes, stone-pelting incidents and even a bomb blast.

Yet, for the last five months, the state government has not posted any IPS officer as the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) to head south zone, even as protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) are raging in and around Hyderabad -with old city as its epicenter. This is the first time in the city history that the south zone has remained without a DCP for full five months and indications are that it is likely to continue this way for the next few months as the Telangana state government appears to be in no mood to appoint anyone at the moment.

For the last five months, a DIG rank officer Avinash Mohanty, who heads the

Central Crime Station (CCS), a key wing of the Hyderabad city police that deals with white-collar offences and other major crimes, has been given additional charge of south zone. Government sources told Deccan Chronicle that while bureaucracy in Telangana has come to a standstill as far as posting and transfer of both IAS and IPS officials are concerned, what with dozens of them languishing in the old posts despite being promoted several months ago, not many are bothered to bring to the notice of the government that there is an urgent need to post someone to south zone, which, incidentally, is the stronghold of MajlisIttehadul Muslimeen (MIM). In fact, there was never a time when the post of DCP south zone remained vacant.

The last DCP of south zone was Mr Ambar Kishor Jha, a 2009 batch IPS officer who took charge in September 2018. Last July, Jha went on Central deputation and is presently working in New Delhi.

As a temporary measure, the top brass gave additional charge of south zone to Avinash Mohanty.